Summary:Charles Ross gave an informative and inspiring talk about the new exciting field of Quantum computing. He explained the theory behind the discovery and new terms which may soon become common place in our industry he explored how this new discovery could change and help shape the future of our industryand unveiled London's plans for a Quantum network.

About the speaker:Charles Ross was born in London in 1936 and educated at Highgate School. After National Service as a Lieutenant in the Royal Artillery he studied law, accounting and economics at the Regent Street Polytechnic training to be a banker, but in 1958 started a career in computing as a programmer. He was elected a Fellow of BCS in 1968 for his work on machine code diagnostic programming systems and an Honorary Fellow in 1976. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Analysts and Programmers, a Fellow of the Institute for the Management of Information Systems and a Chartered IT Professional. He has spent half his career in the invention and development of computing technology and half in the financing and implementation of commercial applications. He has been associated with four 'world firsts' in computing and has started, bought and sold a number of companies in the UK and the USA.

In 1961 he was responsible for the first program to calculate the daily stock market indices, then worked on the first computer typesetting programs. In 1963 he helped start Intinco Ltd which pioneered a number of applications including SCAN, the Stockmarket Computer Answering Network, which, in 1966, was the first on line information and data processing system and enabled brokers and bankers to obtain stock market information using terminals on their desks linked to a central computer. He was a founder member of the Real Time Club in 1967. In the early 1980s he designed a programming language and towards the end of that decade worked on speech recognition systems.

In 1998 he was the secretary of the Quantum Computers in Europe Pathfinder Project for the European Commission, and is currently involved in the development of quantum information processing, computing and cryptography. In 2001 he was Chairman of SCALE 21 [Skills, Capabilities & Aptitude in the Learning Environment of the 21st Century] Foresight Associate Programme of the Office of Science & Technology, Department of Trade and Industry. He contributed to the inclusion of the 'Sophisticated Investor' concept in the Financial Services & Markets Act 2000 and was the first chairman of AngelBourse Ltd, a trading platform for emerging companies. He is a Senior Partner of Quantum Information Partners LLP and Chairman of London Quantum Networks Ltd. He has written a number of articles in the IT press on the implications of computing to our understanding of our brain and lectured at Imperial College on 'what is thinking'.